Taking Your Own Blood Pressure

How often should measure blood pressure at home? For an initial assessment of hypertension and assess the impact of antihypertensive medications blood pressure at home should be measured for at least 3, and preferably 7 days. Daily blood pressure measurements should be conducted in the morning (immediately after waking and before taking this medication in the treatment) and in the evening. In each case, the re- measurement should be carried out 1 minute later. The average value of all measurements should be calculated after discarding the first day of measurement. This 7-day schedule should be followed prior to each subsequent visit to the doctor. With long-term observations it is advisable to measure home less often. Measurement in stressful conditions may be misleading and should be avoided (see the interpretation of measurements of blood pressure).

Should avoid excessive use of home blood pressure monitor for self-change treatment (to take additional tablets or change the dose). The results should be recorded in the log immediately after each measurement, except when the unit is stored in the memory of the values of blood pressure with the date and time of each measurement, or has built-in data transmission. What standards blood pressure measurement at home? As mentioned above, repeated measurements over several days should be averaged to get a reliable picture of the level of blood pressure at home conditions. The mean systolic blood pressure below 130 mm Hg and diastolic below 80 mm Hg considered a normal home blood pressure, and systolic blood pressure 135 mm Hg and above and / or diastolic 85 mm Hg and higher – higher home blood pressure. The interpretation of measurements of blood pressure average of several measurements of blood pressure at home for a few days adds dimension to the study doctor and helps the doctor make an accurate diagnosis.

Values of home blood pressure measurements may differ significantly from measurement to measurement. Blood pressure can be quite high, especially when stressful situations, panic, severe pain, etc., or low, for example, after a long rest or after intense exercise. 'Disposable' measurements have little value and can not give an idea of 'Normal' level of home blood pressure. High blood pressure in one dimension should not cause alarm, except in cases where very high values persist after an adequate period of rest or accompanied by severe symptoms (such as shortness of breath, chest pain, weakness in an arm or leg, difficulty in speech). Increased self-blood pressure at home not in itself an indication for treatment. The doctor will recommend you when and what treatment is indicated. In some cases, self-measured blood pressure at home may be significantly lower than the results of measurements obtained at the doctor's office. This phenomenon is not uncommon, and is known as 'white coat hypertension'. On the other hand, in some cases, blood pressure may be low in doctor's office, while the self-measured blood pressure in home high (latent hypertension). These situations require careful medical evaluation. May require additional research and re-monitoring of blood pressure at home or in outpatient conditions for 24 hours in order to decide on the need for treatment.